AUSTRALIA | Heritage Trail

It's been awhile since the last update, been occupied with some stuffs.

Anyway, I managed to capture many new stuffs as well.


Heritage Trail markers, for those heritage lovers.


A building with a pre-modern architecture.


A building with a typical local design.

SIEM REAP | Templed Out? Why Not?

After exploring those temple ruins, one will really need some break.

So what I did was, I walked the Siep Reap town area thru, and was amazed by their amusing yet creative signages.

Here sharing with you are just a few of them.


When you are out in the ruin, stumbling upon "Lara Croft" might be a dream come true, but stumbling with 3 "Lara Crofts" in the town?

And after those major temple exploration, no one should miss the most famous temple.


No argument here, the Famous Temple of all!


Or otherwise, you can go and hang-out at the Boom Boom Room! Heya Heyo, shakey boom-boom vroooom.


This one I found quite creative, I assumed combining the ancient name of Cambodia i.e. Kampuchea with cappuccino, or perhaps Kampung (village) + cappuccino i.e. a traditional village's coffee, hence Kampuccino.



As Cambodia was once under the Pol Pot regime, thus for does who wanted to feel how it is like to eat inside a prison, you can experience dining within the jail/ prison bars, and no worries, no criminal records will be kept here.


But of all, this is the "coolest" place to dine-in, as the name says, Cool Corner Pizza Restaurant.


So Why Not? Plus Hotsports!? WiFi!


Such bill as above are ubiquitous. Land for "sell", sometimes it made me confuse, whether to sell or for sale?


Otherwise, if you are tired of having coffee or such, you can go online at this eer, Potential Computer School, well they have got potential, but still unproven, or this is not a computer school, but it has a potential to be one, depending on how you interpret the sign thou.


But never be worried, technology is everywhere, even if it is in the rural villages, under the coconut tree, with a bare dirt ground floor, technology can be seen taking off.

So, Why Not?

CAMBODIA | Bayon

Actually, the number of photos taken during the trip to Cambodia is more or less the same with the number of photos taken during the recent trip to Seoul & Tokyo combined!

It was very interesting to know that, within such a "small" community in Cambodia, they are tens of thousand of photo opportunities, well from my perspective that is.

Despite about 80% usability rate of the photos taken, thou I would love to share them all, but I might not be able to post each and every one of the photos here, some might be printed and some might just be kept in my archive for future references.


An overview of the Bayon, no, not the one withthe maroon sarong, its the rocky structure on the left.


Constructed in the late 12th century during the reign of King Jayavarman II, this has been one of the recognisable images connected to classic Khmer art and architecture.


Thou to some degree, this was considered to be an architectural muddle, in part, it was constructed in a somewhat piecemeal fashion for over a century.


The surrounding tall jungle makes Bayon a bit dark and flat for photographer near sunset and sunrise.


There are about 37 standing towers.


But who the faces represented is still a matter of debate.


What I found also amazing is how they manage to carve the huge stone so tastefully, with their antique piece of equipments and mechanism!


Just look at those architectures and wonderful workmanship, without any help from any modern tools, like computers, AutoCAD and such.


A glassless window.


Just can't help shooting at this contrasting image, where those soft moss covering the hard rock wall.

JAPAN | Ameyayokocho II

So moving alone the busy alley, came to a point I need some direction, but finally decided not to, because, even the local are lost!


Guy 1: We are here, are we?
Guy 2: No we are not, why is this map upside down?
Guy 3: Let us ask that guy with the big camera.
Guy 1: No, real man don't ask for direction.
Me: No wonder man always lost in woman's heart!

Trying to figure out where they are, despite the modern time, with the advancement of hi-tech compass and GPS, the good ol' fashion map reading is still a favourite.


So what to do? Just move ahead, and follow the flow, go where the crowds are going.


Golf is one of the favourite hobbies in Japan, I was told that, one need to book up to 6 months in advance just to play on the green, otherwise you can just indulge yourself at the driving range, which can be found almost at every corner, even on the rooftop of the high rise building! So it is not surprising to find golf shops at every other block of shops.


Unfortunately, I'm not a great big fan of golf, despite many people have persuaded me to be on the green, thou we've managed to swing some balls on the driving range yet I've not set foot to play on the actual green. Oh, I think the guy is kinda famous, no not golfer, but a well-known sumo wrestler, I think, because, many people then to stop, and react excitedly seeing him.


Fish, one of the ingredients for sushi, fresh fish are in abundance in Japan, a good way for a healthy diet. No wonder it sounds so fishy.


Then I was caught by surprised by this handsome gentlemen, (no, stop staring at his mustache, something fishy is going on here), me staring at him, him staring at him, just as reflex as it may seems, clicking my camera seems the way to be, sumimasen, lauk masin, bau ikan masin.


Wakasaya, the real sushi eateries, just look at the huge menus. This is a common sight in Japan, even along the alley there were countless such eateries.


But even the elegantness of indoor dining cannot beat the beauty of outdoor eating style, or those gerai style, eating along the walkway is here to stay, no matter where you are, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and even in Japan!

SEOUL | Cheong Gye Cheon Stream

Cheong Gye Cheon stream is about 6KM in length, this is one of the historic places dated since the 14th century as one of the important pathway to go places. It was "unused" during the mid 20th century due to the urbanisation of the City, not until recently, it was restored and a dash of glamour were put to modernize the area so as to be the hip area of the city.


Restoration were completed in 2005, and "million" of people throng the area to have a closer look. For more details, one can read the plaque placed at the "start" of the stream


A poster promoting the area posted at one corner of the long wall.


A glimpse of the many "natural" design of the stream.

Some parts of the stream are re-design to make it have that modern feel, where as some area are just restored as it was, every few hundred meters, the designs will be varied accordingly.


Many people opted to just walk along the pathway, some jog, some just relax, enjoying the view or just reading their papers.


There are exits every few hundred metres, and there are also bridges crossing the stream within the exits, and if one are tired from the long walk, the subway station are just close by.


Another poster of " Seoul | A Lanscape of Silent "


Oh yeap, this is how the general overview of the stream looks like, and if you have watch the Korean Tourism adverts on TV, those "Hi Seoul", this is one of the places that where they did the promo filming.

Actually this was not my first time here, the first time I was here was few years back, which I have posted earlier here.

BRUNEI | Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddien

Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddien celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and an exhibition is being held at the Brunei Museum at Kota Batu to commemorate the event.



Photo shows the dome during the restoration process few weeks ago.

JAPAN | Roppongi Hills

Roppongi is to Tokyo, as what Itaewon is to Seoul.

A very popular tourist area, as most of the tourist, foreigner can be seen hanging out at this area, which is also known as Azabu.

Famous for its restaurants, shoppings, entertainments and night-life, this is one of the places to be seen.


This is one of the famous landmark at Roppongi Hills Mori Tower.


Even the sign is an art of its own.


The famous Tokyo Tower can be seen from Roppongi Hills area.


Roppongi Hill Mori Towers, just before sunset.


Some of the big names in Roppongi include, TV Asahi (the glassy building at the very left), Yahoo! Japan and MTV Japan, just to name a few.



Chilling and enjoying the "out-of-the-ordinary" scene of Roppongi Hills.

An oh, if you are wondering, did I play around with the photos, with HDR or the likes, eerm, nope, it was really like that, fascinating isn't it? Was just merely adjusting the basic stuffs, i.e. contrast & saturations.

SEOUL | Food Stalls & Origin of Ketchup

Food Stalls can be seen almost everywhere in Brunei, and dedicated areas will be set up especially during the festive seasons.

In Seoul, there is no difference, food stall can easily be found almost at every corner of the street, depending on one preference.


This one seems so familiar to those in Brunei.


But this one is quite special, why? Because, got air-con kali ah, split-unit some more !


This is the shy type, because the window is quite small, so malu one meh.


But this one reminds me of those Korean Dramas, the ambience feels like one, well, those type where they bump with each other, boy meets girl, then ketchup all over the clothes, one thing leads to another, so yeah ... and I also think the food vendor is an artist himself, look at the poster behind him, looks like him, don't you think so?

And oh, speaking of Ketchup, did you know what's the origin of ketchup? Obviously, spices do not originate from the west, spices were known from Asia, hence, It was stated that ketchup started off from China, called Katsiap, but it was made of fish! or anchovies rather.

Then obviously, the condiment were improvised by the Malays, yeup, Malay, that is where the word ketchup came from, Kecap, or, Kicap, but it was made of soy sauce. and as historically known, during good old days, traders from all over the world, came by ship to this exotic location to do their business, and along the way, they pick up this kecap thus they brought it along to the west.

It was then, there, they improvised it and "turned" it into today's ketchup, catchup, catsup or whatever way you wanna spelled it.

SEOUL | Shopping Time!

As mentioned in earlier posts, not everyday was a bright sunny day whilst traveling, a drizzle or two was also "part of the package" that need to be dealt with.

Nevertheless, one of the good things about these developed cities like Tokyo and Seoul, is that, not only their shopping areas are located on the street or above the street, but there are also loads of shopping area under the street, or underground, so this is the place to go if it is wet outside.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how you see it), my shopping days are "over", ever since I "got hold" of my passion for photography, as I would rather spend my time capturing the scene with my camera, rather than spending my time shopping.

But, on the other hand, from my photos, I might lure other people to shop at that place, so it is quite a win-win situation for the place itself.


Seoul Plaza Underground Shopping Center is one of the underground shopping places.


Myeongdong Underground Shopping Centre is another underground shopping place, and the good thing about underground shopping is that, it is easily accessible via the Subway train, as they are interconnected with each other.

But, in a different side of the city, this is where the real deal is, the real shopping haven for tourist and Koreans alike. Just look at the photo below.

Shop closes at 0430Hours, yeap 4:30AM!!

Time is not the issue here, what matter most now is your wallet!

Happy shopping everyone, buy smart.